Televisions Guide

Meet the Rest of the LCD Crew

Meet the Rest of the LCD Crew

Besides the Cinema 21:9, Philips has made some refreshes to its TV line-up as well. The new 9000 series will feature three Full-HD Ambilight models in all. The 52-inch 52PFL9704 offering will come fitted with LED-backlights (with local dimming) and a staggering 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. They've also upgraded their screen processors with a rejuvenated engine, simply known as the Perfect Pixel HD Engine.

The 47-inch 47PFL9664 and 42-inch 42PFL9664 models will offer similar features like 200Hz frame-rate for smoother video playback and the same video processing engine, minus the LED-backlights. The 52PFL9704, 47PFL9664 and 42PFL9664 are going for $5999, $4699 and $3999 respectively.

The 7000 series consists of two sizes, the 42-inch 42PFL7409 and 47-inch 47PFL7409 models. They'll be driven by Philips Pixel Precise HD Engine on Full-HD LCD panels with a dynamic contrast ratio of 80,000:1. The 5000 series will carry three sizes, the 47-inch 47PFL5609, 42-inch 42PFL5609, and 32-inch 32PFL5409 models. However, do note that only the 47-inch and 42-inch models are Full-HD screens while the 32-inch panel only goes up to 1366 by 768 for its native resolution. The 7000 series has four HDMI ports, while the 5000 series will pack three each.

Sounding out the SoundBars

SoundBars have become synonymous with the Philips brand. Looking to improve their market share further in the home theater domain, Philips has launched five new models to augment their SoundBar offerings. Amongst them is the HTS8160B SoundBar that not only touts Philips' Ambisound and its multi-channel surround sound technology, but a Blu-ray player as well. The HTS8160B also supports DTS-HD, Dolby True HD decoding for a high fidelity 7.1 aural effect, and is retailing at $1999.

For those looking for a cheaper alternative, there's the HTS6120 SoundBar with a DVD player that comes with 1080p upscaling and a similar Ambisound feature for a 5.1 surround sound experience. The HTS6120 is retailing at $999.